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🌱 How will the new school budget affect your Le Mars tax bill?
What's up Le Mars! Let's start this morning right by getting caught up on what's going on around town. Keep reading to stay in the loop. ☀️
In today's newsletter:
- How will the new school budget affect your Le Mars tax bill?
- How a Le Mars third-grader turned his surgery story into song
- Le Mars development director earns major statewide rural leadership honor
Also on today's calendar: Looney Lutherans - It Could Be Worse! and 3 more events.
Today's riddle: What did the inventor of the knock-knock joke win? 🤔 (Answer below!)
- Friday: Becoming windier and cooler, with a high of 62 and low of 28 degrees.
- Saturday: Partly sunny; windy, cooler, temps: high: 54, low: 31.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high of 63 and low of 34 degrees.
📰 News we're reading
1. LCS board OKs 2026-27 budget (nwestiowa.com) — Le Mars Community School District has approved its 2026-27 budget, including an $83.2 million total spending plan and a slightly lower $11.57 per $1,000 property tax levy. Despite only a small increase in state funding due to lower enrollment, the district will add three teaching positions while carefully managing operating fund balances through June 2027. 
2. Song about 8-year-old hits high note with Le Mars family (siouxcityjournal.com) — An 8-year-old Le Mars boy, Mason Silverthorn, turned his experience living with a prosthetic leg into a book that inspired a custom song. A Morningside University student set his story to music, which the Northwest Iowa Singers will perform later this month, highlighting Mason’s resilience and creativity in his Le Mars home.
3. Gaul honored at 2026 Iowa Rural Summit (klem1410.com) — Le Mars residents may be proud to know community development director Mark Gaul has received the Rand Fisher Rural Leadership Award from the Iowa Rural Development Council. Honored at the 2026 Iowa Rural Summit in Dubuque, Gaul was recognized for two decades of work strengthening Sheldon, Orange City, and especially Le Mars through careful planning, inclusive engagement, and collaboration between public and private partners.
4. After 2 years, Brandon Vander Sluis is back in the circle (ktiv.com) — Le Mars native Brandon Vander Sluis is back throwing shot put for the University of South Dakota after a year-long battle with testicular cancer and multiple surgeries. Supported by family and teammates, he recently won the Sioux City Relays with a 60-foot-plus throw and is now chasing NCAA regional qualification and school records.
📸 Around Le Mars
Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!
🗓
Upcoming Events in
Le Mars
Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!
★ Featured events ★
-
Alzheimer's Association "Wine & Roses Festival"
Le Mars Convention Center, 275 12th St SE, Le Mars
5:00 pm
Thursday April 23
Want to see your event featured? Click here!
Other local events
-
Loess Hills Delta Waterfowl Annual Banquet
Le Mars, IA Calendar , 275 12th Street SE , Le Mars
5:00 pm -
City Council Regular Meeting
Le Mars, IA Calendar , 40 Central Avenue SE , Le Mars
12:00 pm -
Andrew Carnegie's Riches in Iowa: Le Mars
Le Mars, IA Calendar , 46 First St. SW , Le Mars
5:30 pm -
Looney Lutherans - It Could Be Worse!
Browns Music Theater , 25 Plymouth St , Le Mars
1:30 pm -
Oh, My Iowa! Show
Browns Century Theater & Gift Shoppe , 11 Central Ave NE #3516 , Le Mars
7:00 pm
Saturday April 18
Tuesday April 21
Thursday April 23
Saturday May 9
Wednesday May 13
📣 Le Mars Shout Outs!
Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!
🗓 Events Nearby
-
Iowa Candidate Debate and Fundraiser
Deer Run Golf Course , 801 1st Ave N , Hinton
5:00 pm -
Cozy Confessional – A Blind Wine Tasting with Oscar Carl’s Winemaker 4.17.2026
Oscar Carl Vineyard , 1473 Buchanan Ave , Sioux City
6:00 pm -
Sioux-High 4:18
Whiskey Dicks Bar , 212 Cunningham Dr , Sioux City
8:00 pm -
Ireton City Council
Ireton City Clerk , 316 Main St , Ireton
6:30 pm -
BLS-Full Provider
Orange City Downtown Campus , 400 Central Ave NW , Orange City
5:00 pm -
Bingo Night
Orange City Public Library , 112 Albany Ave SE , Orange City
6:30 pm
Friday April 17
Saturday April 18
Monday April 20
Tuesday April 21
Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.
Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.
💬 Chatter
What your neighbors are talking about on social media
- AmeriCold Logistics, LLC posted a job opening for Refrigeration Technician I in Le Mars. Apply here.
- McDonald's posted a job opening for Crew Team Member in Le Mars. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Le Mars here.
Ok Le Mars! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: The NO-BELL prize (Thank you Gina M. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!
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